


Partners

by owlmoose



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmoose/pseuds/owlmoose
Summary: During a battle with bandits, Percy is faced with an unwelcome voice from his past; Vex helps him deal with the aftermath.
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: Critmas Exchange 2020





	Partners

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silverkleptofox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverkleptofox/gifts).



> Written for Critmas 2020

Percy dropped to one knee and took cover next to Vex, cursing under his breath as he turned Animus sideways, knocking the chamber against the heel of his hand in hopes of knocking the misfired bullet loose. But it refused to dislodge. "No good," he said, and jammed the revolver in his holster. He'd have to switch to Retort -- Bad News was too much for these close quarters. As he pulled his second gun free, he looked up to take in the battlefield, gauging how the other members of Vox Machina might be progressing against their unexpectedly difficult foes.

It was always pleasent to get the gang back together; too bad it was almost always under these circumstances. Today those circumstances had taken the form of a group of bandits who had been terrorizing the Whitestone countryside, unremarkable except for the elven sorcerer clad in long red robes. They were currently occupied by Keyleth, who shouted a rough word and tossed her hand. A vine burst out of the grass and wrapped around the sorcerer's legs, and Percy saw his chance. Gun in hand, he jumped to his feet and drew a bead on the enemy. "Got you!"

The sorcerer turned to face him, lifting an elegant eyebrow. "Do you, then," they drawled, and then made a few quick motions with their fingers; a burst of purple energy burst from the fingertips, and Percy was encased in darkness. Dark black smoke, enveloping his vision, familiar, oh so familiar as a deep, rough laugh echoed in his brain.

"Hello, Percival," the voice rumbled. "Welcome back."

"No," Percy said, a dread filling his soul; then he shouted. "No!" But his mouth did not move, and no words came out. Instead, he turned, moving his arm just enough so that he aimed the gun at Keyleth rather than the sorcerer. 

"Percy?" Vex, in his ear, yet as if from a great distance. "Percival, what on earth are you doing?"

Percy knocked Vex away, cuffing her ear with the gun in his hand. And then he pulled the trigger, once, twice, thrice, and finally the fourth time, emptying all the chambers as he fired on his friend. The first bullet went wide, but the others found their mark, two in Keyleth's right shoulder and the last grazing her ear. 

She gasped, turning on him, a look of shock in her eyes, followed by understanding. Someone was screaming, but he couldn't hear who, or where, or see anything other than Keyleth, her worried expression filling his black-clouded vision as he walked toward her. "She is the one," the dark voice hissed, "she's the one who hurt us, now finish her!" Mechanically, without even looking, he reloaded the gun and lifted it again, pointing it at her forehead. She smiled a little, lifted a hand to his temple, and everything dissolved into white.

-x-

The next thing Percy knew, he was lying somewhere soft. He sat up, then immediately lay back down, closing his eyes. Vex and Keyleth were both there, sitting at the foot of the bed. Vex had a bruise all along the left side of her face; a track of blood ran down Keyleth's neck from the wound on her ear, and her shoulder was wrapped in white bandage. But they didn't seem angry, or afraid, perhaps a bit worried but still smiling. How was that possible? How was any of this possible? Didn't they know how dangerous he was? "Leave," he said. "I'm not safe."

"Not safe?" He could hear the surprise in Vex's voice. "Percy, you're fine. The sorcerer cast a mind control spell on you, that's all. Keyleth cast a greater restoration on you almost right away, and Grog finished them off right after."

"You passed out -- in reaction to the spell's abrupt end, we think," Keyleth said. "But now that you're awake, you should be fine."

"You don't understand." Percy rolled away, screwing his eyes tighter shut. "That was no simple Charm Person or whatever you're thinking. I thought it was gone, but it's not. I heard its voice. And it might come back yet again."

"Hear who?" Keyleth laid a hand on his foot, and Percy shook himself free of her touch. "Percy, I don't understand."

"Don't understand?" At that he sat up again, his back against the headboard -- not his bed, a part of his mind dimly registered; they must be in the mansion. "Do you remember nothing? Who else would be whispering in my ear, poisoning my mind, making me hurt the people I love?"

Keyleth's eyes went wide as she took a step away from the bed; Vex simply nodded with understanding. "Orthax," she said.

"Orthax," Percy replied grimly. 

"But Percy..." Keyleth shook her head. "When I broke the connection between Orthax and the gun, you were freed. I felt it myself, and Pike can   
confirm it."

Vex nodded. "That sorcerer was more powerful than the ones we usually catch with bandits, I'll grant you that. But they weren't powerful enough to summon a demon."

"Are you saying you know Orthax's voice better than I?" Percy drew himself up even straighter, steeling his gaze on Vex. "I, who had it living in my head for years? Who spent an eternity with it as it tore my soul to shreds?" He laughed; even to his ears it was a hard and ugly sound. "These last few years were a pretty dream, but it's over. I can't go back to Whitestone and risk everyone and everything that matters being destroyed."

Vex took a deep breath. "Percy--"

"I said get out!" He nearly roared the words, and finally Vex pulled away, backing toward the door, sending a pained look toward Keyleth that would have broken his heart if he'd had a heart left to break.

"Fine," she murmured, opening the door and stepping into the hallway. "I'll let you get your rest." She stood aside to let Keyleth out of the room, started to close the door, then paused. Her eyes met Percy's again, and they were filled with a fire that stopped his breath. "But this isn't over, Percival. I will bring you back to your senses, and then I'll bring you home. This I swear." Before he could respond, she closed the door gently and left him alone.

And finally the cold dam that had been holding his fears and emotions in check burst; he put his head in his hands and began to shake.

-x-

Vex had gotten halfway down the hall before Keyleth caught up to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Vex--"

She whirled around and faced her friend, whose expression mingled confusion and worry. "It can't be Orthax, right? We broke that connection  
years ago."

"I thought so," Keyleth replied, "but we should really ask Pike. Just generally, I think she might know what to do."

Vex let out a sigh. "That's a wonderful idea," she said. "Let's go find her."

They took the staircase down to the common room, where Pike, Grog, and Scanlan all gathered around the fireplace, glasses of wine or ale in their hands, sitting in silence. At the sound of their footsteps, Pike turned and jumped up, setting her glass on a side table. "How is he?"

Vex shook her head. "Something about the experience convinced him that Orthax has taken control of him. We tried to convince him that it was impossible, but he refuses to hear it." She came a few step closer, then kneeled in front of Pike, bringing them face to face. "It is impossible, right?"

Pike didn't hesitate before nodding. "We cleansed him of that connection. Orthax's bargain with Percy ended when Scanlan destroyed The List, and Ripley's was nullified when Keyleth cast Greater Restoration on Animus." 

"Can you tell him that?" Vex worked to keep the frustration out of her voice, but only partly succeeded. "I don't know why he won't listen to me or Keyleth, but maybe you can get through to him."

Pike cast a quick look at Scanlan, who nodded. "Go," he murmured. "Work your magic on him."

"All right," Pike said, and took a deep breath, settling her shoulders. "I'll try."

"Thank you." Vex started to stand, but before she could move away, Pike put her arms around her and pulled her into a warm hug. She closed her eyes and rested her head against Pike's, taking in strength from their companionship. It was good to have trusted friends.

When she was ready, she opened her eyes and let go, standing up. "He's in our room."

"Lead the way," Pike said, and Vex went back up the stairs, Pike and Keyleth right behind her. When they got to the door of the room, she took a deep breath, then opened it without knocking.

-x-

When the door opened again, Percy had laid back down on the bed, perfectly flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The shaking had passed, and he was now alone and empty, with nothing but his terror to keep him company. Could he still hear Orthax, murmuring hateful words in the back of his mind? Or was it merely his fevered imagination, brought on by the spell cast by the sorcerer? Had the curse been inside him all along? He wasn't sure which option was worse.

The sound of the door startled him out of these thoughts, and he shot bolt upright again, reaching for the gun that wasn't there -- of course they had taken it away from him, they didn't trust him, hadn't he always told them not to trust him? Only then did he register Pike, standing at the side of the bed, Vex in the doorway, Keyleth looking over her shoulder. "Pike?"

"Percy." Her voice was soft and gentle, almost enough to break his heart. "Please believe me, believe Vex, believe Keyleth. Believe all of us. Orthax has no hold on you. Not now, not ever again."

"But--" He looked at Pike, into her soft blue eyes, willing her to hear him. "You don't understand. I heard Orthax's voice in my mind. I felt his touch on my soul. I can't mistake that feeling for anything else."

"Are you sure?" Pike took a step closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure it wasn't an illusion, brought on by a spell?" She stared straight at him, as if daring him to look away, and he couldn't. "Percy, listen to me. After we ended the Chroma Conclave, when we had some time to think again and I was staying in Westruun, I paid a visit to Allura and got her to help me with some research. We read everything we could possibly find about vengeance demons and the deals they strike. And I promise you, the hold it had on you? Is broken twice over. By the end of your pact with it, and its pact with Ripley."

Percy looked at her again, saw the honesty in her face, and then turned his gaze to Vex'alia, who had come inside and closed the door while they were talking. She met his gaze and raised her chin, the defiance that always hid fear and worry. "I won't tell you Orthax is gone forever. It probably survived -- you can't kill a demon permanently on the material plane. But unless you seek out a new bargain with it, it has no power over you. None at all."

He reached out and grasped the blanket with his hand."I want this to be true," he murmured, tightening his grip against the fabric. "So badly. That's why I'm afraid to believe it."

Vex came to him then, her eyes never leaving his as she sat down on the bed close to him. "Then I'll believe it for the both of us," she said. "That's what partners do."

Percy closed his eyes. "Vex--" Before he could say another word, her arms were around him, and he was shaking again, grabbing onto her for dear life. "Do you know what it's like? To know that your life is a beautiful dream, everything you never wanted because you didn't think you deserved to want it, and to live in terror that you'll wake up someday and it will be over?"

"Oh, my darling." Vex ran a hand over his hair and pulled him tighter in. "Only every second of every day." She kissed his temple and said nothing more as a single tear slipped out of the corner of his eye; he buried his face in her shoulder and let himself go.


End file.
